Potter's Angel Will Only Graze

[Maives]

I have a very healthy and active Potter's Angel that feeds all day long by grazing micro algae on the glass and rocks. I cannot coax him to eat anything else such as mysid, brine shrimp, krill, nori, prepared angel food, etc. I want to move him to a new display tank, but I am afraid there is insufficient micro-algae to sustain him. With my new system I expect to keep the algae growth to a minimum. Any ideas on how to wean him off the attached microalgae? My lawnmower blenny is demonstrating the exact same behavior, although he feeds a little on hair algae.

BTW, he seems curious and will rush new food only to turn away at the last moment.

 

[singold]

Have you tried soaking food in garlic to initiate feeding response?

 

[LargeAngels]

What my potters really seem to like is very small particles of food floating by them. Have good water flow in the tank and try allowing some mysis to be chopped up in a power head. Many times I see my potters hovering in the water flow and eating small bits of mysis. I use the small Hikary mysis.

 

[blface]

What my potters really seem to like is very small particles of food floating by them. Have good water flow in the tank and try allowing some mysis to be chopped up in a power head. Many times I see my potters hovering in the water flow and eating small bits of mysis. I use the small Hikary mysis.

X2 Mine really loves the Hikari Spirulina Brine

 

[Maives]

I am wondering if he was removed to the tank where there is no algae that he will be prompted to switch his diet. Hard to do when he is eating well and healthy.

 

[stunreefer]

How long have you had it? Some angels will take quite a while before they'll start accepting prepared foods. Try the tiny bits of Mysis noted above, and garlic soak (try with and without garlic).

I would highly recommend not moving the fish until it's readily taking prepared foods... right now it's only taking algae so moving it into a tank with none is not a good move. Moving it in hopes that it will start taking prepared foods because there's no algae available would have a very low success rate IMO.

 

[ataller]

It took my multibarred about 6 months before he started to eat prepared food. No matter what I offered, soaked, or defrosted, he wouldn't even taste. What did it in the end, is that I noticed he would graze at the surface of the water along the back wall of the tank.

I started to drop pellets there, and he started to eat them.

Best advice I can give, is keep the angel where he can find some nutrition grazing, and figure out a way to trick him into eating the prepared foods.

Adam

 

[Maives]

Well I just tried mysid, mussel, and reef plankton, all soaked in garlic. No go, the angel just swims rapidly past the food, takes a few bites of algae off the glass, and then swims rapidly again. Seems happy...

 

[Angel*Fish]

With my new system I expect to keep the algae growth to a minimum. Any ideas on how to wean him off the attached microalgae?

You're saying that you want to wean him off of his natural diet for a more pelagic diet? Maybe it's just the way you worded that, but it almost sounds to me like moving him to the new tank might not be such a good idea.

 

[Maives]

You're saying that you want to wean him off of his natural diet for a more pelagic diet? Maybe it's just the way you worded that, but it almost sounds to me like moving him to the new tank might not be such a good idea.

Unless I can get him to eat prepared foods or I think there is enough algae to sustain him in the new tank, he won't be moved. He/she is a beautiful specimen that appears to be doing well, but eventually the old tank will be taken down so I need to keep trying or find the magic food. The new tank has so much more structure (live rock/corals) and water quality is tightly controlled.

 

[LargeAngels]

As Austin stated leave the fish if it only grazes, unless your other tank has the same type and amount of algae to sustain it.

As others stated it sometimes takes a long time for angels to start eating other foods and some never completely adjust. I have a 9" blueline that in over 2 years still will not eat anything but mysis and clams. On the other hand I have venustus and regals that started eating pellets right away and prefer them.

 

[Maives]

After about six weeks of trying to feed the Potters angel prepared food, only to have it completely ignore the food, the angel finally tried a very small morsel of Formula 2. Over the course of two weeks, he took larger and larger pieces. Now he is ravenous for Formula 2 and is eating cyclopeze and some mysid. So he was moved to my display tank yesterday and my ocellaris clown immediately pummeled it. The redfin wrasse then started in. My beautiful pygmy angel was getting thrashed. So I covered the tank with towels and reduced the light level. That caused the wrasse to enter his lair in the rock thinking it was nighttime. The clownfish aggression also was dramatically reduced with the lower light. So it was been 24 hours and the aggression has been greatly diminished. For the most part the other fish now respect the Potters and keep their distance.